This is the second year now that I've gone on a group trip with Roger, an old high school friend who originally introduced me to backpacking. In 2015 we backpacked in Idaho which was the first backpacking trip for me outside of California. This year we were hiking in California, but this time there were 8 participants which was another first for me. We all met up in Bridgeport the night before starting the trip, and the packs were checked and double-checked.
Day 1
We started at the Kennedy Meadow trailhead just west of Sonora Pass off of highway 108. Following the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River we hiked into the Emigrant Wilderness. We hiked past Relief Reservoir and then followed Summit Creek towards the east. We stopped and camped on the first night just past the point where the creek that drains Lewis Lake meets Summit Creek. On that first day I immediately saw the impact of having 8 in our group: it's hard to find a campsite big enough. Sometime early during this day I inadvertently put my camera into a black and white mode, so my photos are different. For this trip we carried the fixings for a steak dinner which enjoyed immensely on the first night out.
Meeting of the minds before embarking.
Off we go!
Summit Creek
Dardanelles?
Relief Reservoir
Summit Creek drainage above reservoir
Time to find a campsite
Happy Hour
Evening
Last edited by jimmeans on Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Day 2
On day 2 we continued east along Summit Creek towards Brown Bear Pass. The geology in this area is very interesting. North of us was the volcanic rock from recent volcanic activity, and on the south was the granitic rock that I'm more familiar with in the Sierra. After crossing Brown Bear Pass we hiked to Emigrant Meadow Lake. This lake is pretty shallow and was formed by building a crude low dam. The lake is very swampy as you get near the shoreline. We were able to find a campsite in a boulder hill just to the northeast of the lake, and we found a good water source in the creek coming down from High Emigrant Lake.
Morning of day 2
Hitting the trail.
Looking back at the ground we covered yesterday
Lunch Meadow
Trail to Mosquito Lake and Emigrant Lake goes that way
Approaching Brown Bear Pass
View east from Brown Bear Pass, Tower Peak visible in distance
Day 3
On day 3 we continued east towards Grizzly Peak. The trails in this region follow a lot of old mining roads, so they are relatively easy to follow. As we approached Grizzly Peak there are several small lakes or tarns that could make decent campsites. After reaching the foot of Grizzly Peak we continued through the Summit Meadow area, and then after a short steep climb we reached Bond Pass and entered Yosemite National Park. From there it was a short downhill to Dorothy Lake. We were hoping to camp at the west end of the lake, but we found this area occupied by a large horse-supported group. We continued along the north shore and found a very nice spot near the east end of the lake on a bluff overlooking the lake. We proceeded to setup our campsite where we planned to stay for 3 nights.
Morning at Emigrant Meadow Lake
Last view back to Brown Bear Pass, note the difference in rock on each side
Day 4
This was the first of two layover days. We had a fish fry planned for the evening, and the plan was that we would wait until late afternoon before we started keeping the fish that we would cook. The idea was that we wanted the freshest fish possible. We waited until 4PM before those designated to fish went to work, and it got pretty breezy. People had been catching and releasing fish for a day and a half, and now suddenly we couldn't catch any when we planned to eat them!! Finally somebody caught one, and then I caught two on consecutive casts. The jinx had been broken, and we ended up with plenty of fish for everybody.
Morning of day 4
Lake is a bit choppy this morning
Forsyth Peak
Strange cloud forming to the east, it hung there all day
Day 6
On day 6 we hiked over Dorothy Lake Pass entering the Hoover Wilderness and followed the PCT for a short distance. We eventually branched off of the PCT and went to Cinko Lake where we camped.
Moving day
On the road again.
Campsite at Cinko Lake
Rocks across lake from camp
View from on top of rocks across lake
Direction of Emigrant Pass
Evening at Cinko Lake
Last edited by jimmeans on Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Day 7
Another moving day. Our plan was to hike down the West Fork of the West Walker River and then divert to Fremont Lake and camp there. We reached Fremont Lake by lunch time, and since we weren't really satisfied with the camp spots there we decided to hike further to shorten tomorrow's hike. We eventually camped just off the trail below Hidden Lake.
On the trail
Upper Long Lake
Fremont Lake
Tower Peak
We're camping right here.
Day 8
Last day. Hiked the rest of the way to the Leavitt Meadow trailhead.
Next time you go over Brown Bear Pass, take a side-trip to Lost Lake. It is crawling with fish! Nice route. I have done all of it as parts of other routes. I particularly liked all the girl-named lakes like Stella Etc. Wow, it looks really dry. Hopefully this winter will green things up again.
What a great, and different route! I hate the tension created when I "have" to catch fish for dinner like you had to at Dorthy Lake. Usually decide it is time for fish dinner when I catch a couple of suitable fish after 3 in the afternoon and try to make sure that I have alternative options if I don't catch fish.
Mike
Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
